As a business owner, Facebook gives you the opportunity to deliver engaging content related to your services, and provide your page’s visitors with additional information about your business that you won’t get from other social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter. With its more complex structure, it’s easy to forget or overlook a few key aspects of your Business’s Facebook Page, so we’ve created a step-by-step setup to ensure that your page is search engine optimized, and contains complete information about your business.
Before making any edits to your Facebook Page, it’s a good idea to disable your page’s visibility. This prevents your page’s followers from seeing live edits to your page, and prevents potential visitors from finding your page during the editing process. Once you’ve disabled your page’s visibility, head back to the home page to begin your page’s optimization with the following steps:
STEP 1: PAGE TITLE
The title of your Facebook page is determines how your page is found in organic search. For this reason, the name of your page should always be the name of your business, and exclude anything that’s unrelated. This should be standard for all social media pages as well the title of your website, which will ensure that your company’s name is consistent across search engines, and increase the likelihood of your business and its associated pages displaying in a direct search.
STEP 2: PAGE USERNAME
If you’ve recently just created a Facebook for your business, you will not be eligible for a username. The requirements for this have not been specified by Facebook, but we’ve found that it generally requires a page to have existed for at least 72 hours, and have approximately 25 Likes.
Your page username is extremely important because it will act as the permalink for your Facebook page, which means that you’ll want it to be an exact match to the name of your business. Since Facebook usernames are unique to each individual Facebook Page, it’s possible that your desired username is already taken. When this happens, we recommend inserting a keyword after your business’s name. For example, if you own a business in clothing retail that’s called “Fast Fashion,” and find that the username is taken, a good alternative would be “@fastfashionapparel” because it closely associates your product category with the name of your business by using a high volume keyword.
STEP 3: PROFILE PICTURE & COVER PHOTO/VIDEO
Your logo is often the first thing that a customer sees when visiting your page. Brand image is everything on Facebook, and we’d hate to see it defaced by a pixelated logo. Ask your graphic designer for a high resolution PNG file that’s 1080 x 1080 px (they’ll know what you need). Once you have it, be sure to upload it as the profile picture on your Facebook Business Page, and resize it accordingly.
The second thing your page visitors see when visiting your Facebook page? Your Cover Photo or Video. We recommend video to increase the likelihood of a visitor spending more time on your page, and it’s a great opportunity to showcase what makes your business interesting.
Facebook Photo & Video Dimensions:
Profile Picture: 360 x 360 px
Cover Photo: 828 x 465 px
Cover Video: 828 x 465 px
Our Story: 880 x 445 px
Despite the above dimensions, you’ll always want to create and export your photos and videos in the highest resolution possible, and resize the original files to fit Facebook’s Page Dimensions. Also, you’ll want to be sure that your photos are PNG files because there is no loss of quality upon uploads or downloads, unlike JPEG files.
STEP 4: ABOUT/CONTACT INFORMATION
The “About” section of your Facebook Business Page contains contact information about your business that you’ll want to make sure is accurate and consistent throughout your business’s online presence (social media pages, directories, and website). Inconsistent contact information can leave your business vulnerable to adverse effects from Google, causing your business to rank lower in search. The active effort attempting to increase your business’s rank in search engine results is referred to as search engine optimization (SEO). There are several inputs you’ll want to make sure are completed properly in your business’s “About” section:
Business Categories – Each category acts as a page tag in Facebook Search for general search terms. For example, someone who is searching “real estate agent” will have pages appear that are related to that specific category. Your business may have up to three categories listed to increase the chance of appearing in a relevant search term.
Phone Number – You’ll want to add a phone number, so your page visitor’s have a quick way to reach you. We recommend using the phone number on your Google My Business Listing.
Website – Adding a website link gives your page visitors the opportunity to seek out more information about your business, learn more about your products, and enables them to convert on your website.
Business Email – Your email acts as an alternative contact method for customers to engage with your business. You’ll want to send a confirmation email to ensure that it remains visible, and displays on your page.
Business Address – Facebook allows you to add your business’s location. If you have an in-store location, we suggest adding it to your page. This makes it easier for customers to find you. If you’re a brand that operates from an at-home location, you’ll still want to add your location for verification purposes, but be sure check the option to hide your address. You don’t want people coming to your doorstep to purchase your products or services.
About – The “About” section let’s you explain your business’s purpose, using up to 155 characters. Be sure to use keywords associated with your business. If you’re unsure how your customers are finding you, head over to your Google My Business Insights, and be sure to configure Google Search Console for your business.
Our Story – Your page has a designated place to tell customers more about your business. The “Our Story” section of your business’s Facebook Page is a great opportunity to tell your business’s history, detail information about products, and add additional backlinks.
STEP 5: PAGE BUTTONS
Facebook enables each business to have a page button, which acts as a Call-to-Action (CTA) for your page’s visitors. Depending on how you value each visitor, there are a variety of buttons to optimize your page for conversions. You’ll want to determine most valuable action that a visitor can take on your page, and label your button accordingly.
STEP 6: PAGE RECOMMENDATIONS
Recently, Facebook changed their 5-star review rating system to what are now known as “Recommendations,” a friend-oriented referral system that quantifies your business’s rating on a 5-point scale. Driving Recommendations is a quick way to boost your business discoverability in both Facebook and Google Search. Our Recommendation? Give on-the-spot discounts for a then-and-there recommendation!
As a platform with over 2.2 billion monthly active users and advertising capabilities, you’ll want to ensure that your Facebook Page is competitive, and you’re actively making efforts to engage consumers, and target your audience with a social media marketing strategy. Like any good marketing strategy, you should start with a goal. Now that your Facebook page is optimized for conversions, be sure to enable your page’s visibility so your customers can find you.